1990 5.0 Monster Miata Kit - Full Video Build Process
 

Hi Everyone - Gabriel here from Ontario, Canada.. .

Although I never did end up creating a build thread from the start, and I'm now in the tail end of my project, I edited a series of videos throughout the build process that elaborated on my whole build.

I decided to finally create my build thread, and if nothing else, the videos alone should show pretty much all of the build process.

The car is a red 1990, I went with the Monster Miata V8 conversion kit, and a bone stock 1989 mustang 5.0 with WC T5 and an 8.8 limited slip.

as the project is not yet done, there will be more videos to come, but this is 85% of it. Hope you all enjoy the videos!


Part 1 - Introduction - In this Video I really just introduce myself, the project, and the car.


Part 2 - This is a fast pace overview of the dis-assembly of the car, since this is probably the easiest part, I made this one fairly fast.


Part 3 - This is mostly the modifications required to drop the v8 in the engine bay


Part 4 - Bringing the engine home, and getting ready for the Miata - again, I kept it bone stock for now.. so I didn't open it up in any way, i just cleaned it, painted it, and freshened it up!


Part 5 - This is just a quick video showcasing Martin's kit


Part 6 - Front End Reassembly


Part 7 - Transmission and driveline


Part 8 - very detailed video on how I did my CV joints, or halfshaft conversion. I ended up having to completely disassemble each joint


Part 9 - a bit of a boring video, this shows all of my Wiring. This was my first time doing this, so please do not assume this is done the right way! (I mean, I think it is, but that's my problem :). I think specially for wiring, everyone should study the diagrams, understand them and wire the car the best way possible.


Part 10 - Putting everything else together! most of the remaining components required before first start are addressed in this video, the alternator, starter, fans, hood webbing modification, speed sensor... I also discuss my fuel line rerouting.


Part 11 - The First Start of the Engine! I think everyone will remember this part of their build for the rest of their life, when you finally hear that engine running inside the Miata!


Part 12 - In this Video I build the Exhaust, put the new rims on, and finally take it for a short spin..


Part 13 - After the long winter, Spring has finally arrived, But the car is still not sorted!

Part 14 - Another summer without enjoying this car, time to get it done! In this video: The Transmission comes out and goes back in!

Part 15 - The Finale. Taking a step back and admiring the finished product.


Stay tuned, more videos to come!

Reserving spot for future videos

Reserving another spot for future videos

Reserving another spot for future videos again!!

So awesome.....just watched them all

Very cool. So excited to build mine.

Jason

ha ha - thanks, My thoughts when i decided to make these vids when i started my build were that, there's a huge value in being able to watch the process before getting into it, even if the building your watching doesn't know what he's doing... lol like me... because it really gives you perspective of what you're in for!


lol yep - I was at that point 6 months ago lol.... you'll hit ups and downs... you'll have times when you're super excited to get in the garage on saturday morning and build your car... and then of course they're will be the frustrating times when you're way over budget, you need your garage and it's taken up by this project, you've put soooo much work into it, and have gotten not that much in return...

THEN you get that first ride down the street with no insurance yet!! for me that was only 2 nights ago at 11pm when i finally put the wheels back on after finishing the exhaust work! I probably woke up the whole neighborhood! And i think my hands were shaking for at least an hour after... and i coudln't even sleep despite being exhausted from putting 12 hours of work on the car that day!!! probably the most exciting moment of my life LMAO!

Nice!!

LOL every vid has at least one operation that you have to do at least twice for various reasons. Makes me feel right at home and I'm glad I'm not the only one that does that! Again. And again. :eek4:

I really like the part you put in about builders fatigue. That get's missed a lot in build threads and it's a really big deal no one plans for or expects. Really good stuff Gabe.

I'm looking forward to the shake down runs and future fun with your car. Great build and really fun build thread! Thanks for posting this!!

Thanks Jim - see i'm surprised you picked up on the "have to do at least twice" stuff.. because i felt i didn't elaborate enough on that... almost everything I installed, I ended up uninstalling and reinstalling another 3 times, everytime you think it's the last time... then, later down the road: again!

I feel like these videos make it look like the project gets done over night, but with all the stuff that's not in video, like figuring stuff out.. trying to understand how the peice goes on... redoing it at least twice and more... It certainly does NOT get done overnight

Gabriel,
Curious if you ever thought about installing the complete engine/tranny/subframe from below. And if you did, what was the deciding factor to install from above?
I'm planning on doing mine from below, but looking for another POV.
Brad

I'm not too sure - I never really concidered doing it from below since i felt it probably required a car hoist like how Stacey David did it on Gearz..

getting the engine to sit right took almost a day of playing and shiming.. it's much easier to do without the bell housing and headers there, HOWEVER - I did end up messing with that even more after these things were all installed, and it's dooable, just not as nice as when they're not there yet..

I guess the from below methode would enable you to do most of this before it's on the car? I suppose the front to back portion would have to be done later since the firewall is not there yet..

I really don't know, i just picked the methode that seemed suited for my situation and proceeded...

I really can't say that installing the Bell, and trans was hard with engine on the car... I had plenty of room in there.. i think a few bell housing bolts i needed the u joint link on my socket extention but only 1 or 2.. and it was really no big deal

Hi Guys! Finally i finished the next video in the series of my car build..... See part 12 in the master post HERE

awesome. What kinds of little things do you still have to sort? Sounds great.
I'm finally starting my teardown. Takes longer to get this engine out than I thought it would.

haha - brace yourself, the removal of the miata engine is probably the quickest easiest part of the build!

Oh.. all kinds of random stuff still needs done...
-heat sheilds on the exhaust need to be built, floor insulation, the floor gets really hot...
-the shift boot sucks, puts tention on the shifter,
-clutch not diengaging properly after car gets warmed up, either exhaust heating up slave cylinder, or need to brace it like others have done..
-engine still not running right, won't idle when cold,
-runs really rich when cold, not even sure if it would pass e-test right now
-I hear whistling sound coming from the back engine bay, i think there might be a vacume leak,
-alignment hasn't even been done yet
-funny clunking noise comes from the engine bay from time to time, can't figure out what it is...
-intake tube is rubing on the hood at one spot,
-exhaust is only held with temporary bolts, no washers even yet.. has to be properly installed
-still have random bolts sticking out here and there that need to be trimed and made neatter
-realised they're actualy doing spot checks for air pump and things on cars in ontario, read a guy on some forum got a mean ticket for not having the airpump on a 73 corvette!! decided i'm going to reinstall airpump, egr etc... need to purchase all this stuff eehhh...
-after all this i want to do a trickflow kit... the car is HUGE fun with 225hp, but still 350 would be better!

ha- ya my day was slow going. I started in the morning and finished up before supper, but actually only got about 3 hrs of actual work in. Probably another good hour of work to do before I can yank it out. Maybe tomorrow night.
Def sounds like you have a vacuum leak from your description.

Yep - hopefully this winter i'll have time get get everything fixed up - right now i'm full throttle on getting my house fixed up before the Winter.. Winter is coming!

Gabriel, I just finished converting the axles and man... you have no idea how important your video was! I pounded till it hurt trying to get the axles out of the CV joint and finally gave up. I wound up cutting off the axle so there was only a nub left in the joint. Used your detailed video and disassembled it, pushed the nub out, cleaned all the pieces, put it back together and did it again for the other one. Got both axles installed and working good. Thank you for the video! Priceless! By the way, what an amazing piece of hardware that CV joint is.

AH MAN! I'm really glad the video helped!! were they A1 Cardone? So many people here said it was super easy to pop them out, but I faught for hours to get them out and as the video showed the clip binded and shattered inside the CV... I really hope the tequnique I showed are correct lol... As I said in the video, it was the first time I ever did them too... I just hope I never need to take them appart again!

Yup. A1 Cardone. The ones that are referenced to get if you have an 8.8 rear end you are putting in.

Now I'm headed back to your video of the radiator. I can't for the life of me make sense of how the brackets are supposed to work or hold the radiator in!

Hi Gabriel,

I recently came across your videos on YouTube and watched all of them in one sitting. I just wanted to thank you for documenting your process in this way and at this level of detail and honesty. I didn't expect some of the more melancholy segments and found them to be an excellent addition to the process and very well done.

I can appreciate the amount of work you put into these videos from a technical perspective, as they are loaded with interesting camera angles, techniques and edited well. I wish you the best with your build and I look forward to more updates!

-Tom

Thanks Tom! Honestly I probably enjoyed making the videos as much as I enjoyed building the car... some of them are edited better than others, when your spending so much time on the build, it's hard to spend time editing video at the same time lol... so some of them got slapped together rather quickly...

I will admit many parts where you're really banging your head trying to figure out something on the build, the last thing you feel like doing is setting up the camera and filming a portion of it lol...

I'm going to make a few more videos in the spring, I hope to be able to take all the time required to put together some more professional looking videos, we'll see!

anyway! thanks for the feedback!

Gabe.

Gabriel these are awesome. Martin should pay you for them.

Kudos to you sir,

-Jason

Indeed! It was Gabriel's videos that moved me from wishing to doing!

Hmmm... Gabriel, I think you should share some of my costs now that I think about it! This Monster Miata I have is all your fault!

Seriously though, after sifting through hundreds of pictures and build threads, your videos cinched it for me to move forward. Thanks!

Mike

Now that right there is what I love about this place! ^^ Thank you for sharing that Mike, this is for sure the best post I've seen in a very long time!!!

http://i57.tinypic.com/dxic0w.jpg

Whoa!

You guys are way too kind! Mike, if I had that much impact, then I guess i should share the cost... unfortunately I have no money left after building a v8 Miata!

I'm super happy I was able to have this much positive influence... although I'm starting to guess that many men's wives will not find my influence to have been a positive thing... :D

Guys finally had time to whip up a video from the footage I captured this spring... the car is not quite ready still at the moment, but I haven't worked on it since July.... which is a shame because there's only a few minor things left....

anyway, here's an update:


Thanks!
Gabriel.

Thanks for posting Gabriel. I was wondering what happened with you. Too bad you didn't have it on the road this year. Hope you were just too busy with other stuff and that you're not getting down or loosing interest in the project....you've come this far.
What's left to finish up?
I've been having a blast with mine these last couple weeks. I just put the hood back on tonight after painting where I had to cut out the braces.
Your video's helped me along the way. Hope the next one is your "car is finished and it's perfect" or something along those lines. We should meet up sometime if you're ever around the Grand Bend area. 1st round is on me.
Brad

Brad - trust me I'm even more annoyed that I didn't have it on the road, that started off being my #1 priority for 2015. but you know things got in the way. it's hard to balance work life, family life, home renos etc with a car project. unfortunately it hasn't been touched since July...

I'm glad my videos helped you along the way, that is really why I did a video blog of my build in the first place... I knew I wouldn't get famous as an amateur posting videos of a very niche segment of the auto enthusiast community. But it was almost as much fun as doing the build itself. And I figured people could enjoy watching someone's realistic build specially while debating whether getting into such a project.

anyway - unfortunately, the next video will not be that lol... I have had more problems since then, and have resolved most of them already, they just didn't make it into this video. At the moment, I'm still getting a few engine codes I need to resolve. and the clutch is still not working correctly. that's about it.

I'd love to go for a beer with you one of these days, i'll extend the invite, if you're ever in the Barrie or North Toronto area - let me know!

Gabe.

New Video - also added to original Post.

congrats and thanks for taking the time to make all of these videos!

Congrats Gabriel, I always enjoy the videos and am looking forward to all the cool stuff you're planning for your channel!

-Tom

Man I love the sound of your car! The only thing better is hearing the joy in your voice as yet another builder realizes it was all worth it. Really well done and I love this video Gabriel!

And - Finaly - one final video to take a step back and admire the finished product.


This will be the last video that I post on my build thread! It's been an awesome journey!

Nice video Gabe. I can relate to the feeling of pride when you drive this little car with the big rumble. "Ya, I built this"
But I think your journey is just beginning.

Brad, you're absolutely right.... I did mention in the video that I would keep improving this car for as long as I own it.. but my journey due to this car goes far beyond this... its inspired me to continue on with other projects and to cultivate my creativity... it has also got me started with a YouTube channel which I hope to use to inspire others to use their creativity also!! So yes.. you are absolutely correct in saying that this v8 miata project is only the start of the journey!!

Hi Gabriel,

Your dedication to your project and your kindness for sharing it with us is inspiring. I have learnt so much about this build from your project videos as I am sure many other people have as well.

Your car is fantastic to look at and it sounds perfect!! It was great to see you finally enjoying yourself behind the wheel of that little red rocket. :)

I hope that when I get to the end of my build I will be grinning from ear to ear just like you...minus the winter cap of course...it never gets that cold here in Australia :)

Thumbs up to you champion!! :)

Cheers
John

Gabriel,
Your video's are both informational and entertaining! I went thru several beers while watching them today. I am in the process of updating my 2003 Miata with a 1987 Mustang 5.0-HO engine. Pulled the Miata engine out early this week. I rebuilt the Mustang engine. Have the subframe ready to send to Martin at Monster Miata. I am really enjoying this project.
My background included building three 3 wheeled vehicles (Trimuter powered by a 20 hp Onan engine, Trimagnum powered by a 2002 BMW R1200LT, and XR3 (pictures attached) powered by a 43 HP Kubota Turbo Diesel). You can google these vehicles. I have also built and flown a BMW R100 powered experimental, 2 place airplane. Sold it 5 years ago so I can buy several classic motorcycles. I also collect and redue classic cars. I have a 1970 Mercury Cougar, 1971 Ford Ranchero, and a 1995 Ford SHO.

Again, I have a lifetime of doing creative vehicle builds and I am totally impressed by what you have done and documented with an entertaining video. Congrats!!

My one questions is what parts do your really feel MUST be bought from Monster Miata versus fabricating yourself?

Tim in Tucson, AZ
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.v8m...a59439f996.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.v8m...c3cf5ba820.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.v8m...8eb110c4fd.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.v8m...8abbe175ca.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.v8m...b4f232656d.jpg

I'll add to the list of "thank yous!" I watched these videos well before I found this post. Like others, I found this series deeply informative and very inspirational. I'll be back to these a lot when I finally take the plunge and pull the factory driveline.